KANSAS CITY -- Two nights ago, Salvador Perez was mic’d up on ESPN and talking about his teammate hitting in front of him in the lineup, Jac Caglianone.
“For me, he’s the strongest young guy I’ve ever met in my life,” Perez said. “Lifting, the other day, he was 600 pounds squatting. He’s only 23 years old. I’m like, ‘Jac, come on, man.’”
Salvy sees Caglianone’s strength in the weight room. And we all get to see the strength on the field on a night like Saturday night, when Caglianone unleashes his powerful left-handed swing to put together the best night of his young career.
Caglianone went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two home runs and four RBIs Saturday in the Royals’ 6-3 win over the Cubs at Kauffman Stadium, evening the series ahead of Sunday’s series finale.
He became the first MLB player this year to hit two doubles and two homers in a game. The last to do so was Junior Caminero on May 31, 2025. No Royal had ever done it before in franchise history. Caglianone is also the seventh Royal with four extra-base hits in a game and the first since Kendrys Morales on Sept. 20, 2015. Caglianone is the youngest Royal to do it.
“Really impressive, literally from left field to right field,” manager Matt Quatraro said, noting Caglianone’s four hits were sprayed to all parts of the field. “Hard-hit, different pitch types. Obviously, we know he’s got huge power, and we saw that throughout the night. He just seemed really calm at the plate throughout the night, and that was a really good sign.”
It’s a great sign for Caglianone and the Royals. There are few things more important than the continued development of Caglianone and Carter Jensen as the Royals head into their final 44 games of the season. The young sluggers have been everyday players for most of the season, but seeing them finish strong is crucial. They’re going to be major parts of next year’s campaign.
That means seeing the results, like we saw for Caglianone on Saturday, but it also means minimizing mistakes and making adjustments. Caglianone has endured his ups and downs this year, and he’s finding his swing again after a quieter July.
Caglianone has recorded a hit in all seven games so far in August, and he’s hitting .429 with four doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.322 OPS over the course of this seven-game run.
“I [feel] very grounded right now,” Caglianone said.
He’s talking more about his swing when he says that. It’s the result of daily conversations and work with assistant hitting coach Marcus Thames, who likes to emphasize simplifying Caglianone’s swing. Caglianone doesn’t need to swing at 100% to hit the ball really hard or see it go really far. Staying grounded in his stance allows the ball to come to him, rather than him stepping forward to go get it.
“Really just that backwards move,” Caglianone said. “Not getting too far into it to where I’m shooting forward. Just kind of simplifying it. He always tells me, ‘You don’t need to get more.’ As still as we can possibly be, the better. That’s really just all we’ve been working on.”
That work was displayed all over Saturday night. Caglianone’s home run distances totaled 868 feet, his first traveling a Statcast-projected 448 feet to center field in the first inning off Cubs starter Clay Holmes. Caglianone’s second homer was his 20th of the season, 420 feet to the Fountain Deck in right field, providing major insurance after reliever John Schreiber had just worked out of a jam in the top of the frame to keep the Royals’ lead intact.
Caglianone averaged 108.6 mph on the four hits Saturday. Three of the four came on strikes that Caglianone knew he could do damage with; his RBI double in the third came on a 3-2 sweeper below the zone.
Caglianone’s ceiling because of that strength is undeniable. Now at this level, his production will depend on staying with that simplified swing and approach -- and not trying to do too much with either.
“It’s more him just needing to slow down the game,” said Bobby Witt Jr., whose Derek Jeter-esque jump and throw play in the third inning will be on his highlight reel. “He’s going to get out, and he can’t get frustrated. Because he’s going to have games like this a lot more than not. He doesn’t have to try to hit it way out of the stadium. He just has to tap it.
“If he can slow down Major League pitching, it’s going to be scary. He’s a different breed.”